Figure 1.

Defects in epithelial xenophagy responses in IBD. Shown here is the xenophagic response to luminal microbes and microbial components. These components are recognized by NOD2, which, in conjunction with IRGM, recruits components of the autophagic machinery, including ATG16L1. Upon activation, ATG16L1 associates with the ATG5-ATG12 complex to recruit LC3 in the development of the membrane enclosed phagophore. The cargo-loaded phagophore fuses with cellular lysosomes to form the autophagolysosome in the final degradation and recycling of the xenophagic cargo. Components of this pathway with known IBD-related SNPs are designated with a red asterisk.